


Endure

by nekpma



Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Lesbian Character, Naughty Dog - Freeform, Post-Zombie Apocalypse, Zombie Apocalypse, wlw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:46:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27265927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekpma/pseuds/nekpma
Summary: With the world fallen into an apocalyptic state, Joel Miller finds himself smuggling two young teenagers across the United States. Blake, a 14-year-old girl, and her best friend, Ellie, who's immunity to a fungal virus could put an end to the long-term suffering the world is facing.As the group travels across the country, facing infected and not-so-friendly factions, Blake and Ellie learn the true meaning of family, and what it's like to love.⌜© 𝘯𝘦𝘬𝘱𝘮𝘢 | 2020⌟
Relationships: Ellie (The Last of Us)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. strangers

"She should be back by now," Ellie muttered from her spot on the floor.

"I'm sure Marlene is fine, Ellie. She's a grown woman, she can take care of herself," I assured, watching as Ellie picked at her nails with her switchblade.

Silence seeped across the room, but only lasted a short amount of time as an announcement across the quarantine zone bounced off the brick walls outside.

Attention. Curfew is now in full effect. Anyone caught outside without proper authorization will be arrested and prosecuted.

The disembodied voice repeated the warning twice more before shuffling came from the other side of the store's entrance.

Ellie immediately stood, pocketing her mother's old switchblade as she moved away from the door. "You think it's her?"

"I hope so," I said, getting to my feet as well.

The door opened, and Marlene, followed by two people - a man that looked oddly like a lumberjack and a woman with short hair sporting a bandanna - came through. The man behind her reached down, and it was then that I saw that she was injured.

"Get the fuck away from her!" I yelled, starting to rush towards Marlene. To my side, Ellie pulled out her switchblade again, holding it at the ready as she surged forward with me.

"Hey!" The woman declared from beside the man, grabbing hold of Ellie's arm.

As I turned from the queen of the Fireflies to my best friend, my lips pulling back in a snarl, Marlene broke the almost-fight by telling the woman to let Ellie go, making me halt in my steps.

I looked at Marlene as Mr. Lumberjack took a good look at us. "You're recruitin' kinda young, aren't ya?"

Ellie kept her blade out.

"They're not mine," Marlene informed as she got off the ground.

"Shit, what happened?" Ellie asked, once again pocketing her knife and going up to Marlene at the clear sign of injury.

My eyebrows furrowed, but I stayed quiet, eyeing the two strangers in the room.

"Don't worry. This is fixable," Marlene said, leaning herself against the counter that had a cash register on it. "I got us help."

Ellie looked at the adults, then at me.

"But...I can't come with you," Marlene said.

"Well, then we're staying," I said, not like the idea of leaving her behind. Ellie's green eyes met mine as she nodded in agreement.

"Ellie. Blake. We won't get another shot at this," Marlene pleaded, glancing between Ellie and I.

I opened my mouth to argue, but the lumberjack beat me to it. "Hey - we're smuggling them?"

"There's a group of Fireflies that'll meet you at the Capitol building," Marlene said, her hand holding her side.

The lady behind me scoffed. "That's not exactly close."

"You're capable," Marlene countered, bobbing her head at the fact. "You hand them off, come back, the weapons are yours. Double what Robert sold me."

I shuffled slightly, moving closer towards Ellie.

"Speaking of which - where are they?" The woman asked, her brown hair catching the light that seeped through the window.

"Back in our camp," Marlene said.

The lady laughed. "We're not smuggling shit until I see them."

I began to nervously tug at the hem of my shirt, looking between Marlene and the woman.

Marlene shook her head, irritation clear on her face as she said, "You'll follow me. You can verify the weapons. I can get patched up. But they're not crossing to that part of town. I want Joel to watch over them while we're gone."

As the last sentence left her mouth, I blurted out, "Bullshit! We're not going with him!"

"Yeah, there's no way in hell I'm going without you!" Ellie yelled right after.

The man nodded. "Yeah, I don't think that's the best idea."

"Ellie! Blake..." Marlene scolded, cutting off our sudden outburst.

"How do you know them?" I asked, stepping in front of Ellie.

"I was close with his brother, Tommy," Marlene answered, looking directly at Joel. "Said if I was ever in a jam I could rely on him."

"Was that before or after he left your little militia group?" Joel asked with a scoff.

"He left you too," Marlene said, dodging the question. "He was a good man."

There was a moment of pause before the woman went up to Joel. "Look. Just take them to the north tunnel and wait for me there."

"Jesus Christ," Joel muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"They're just cargo, Joel," the lady said, trying her best to convince him.

"Marlene..." Ellie whispered from beside me, making me turn my attention back to them.

"No more talking," Marlene said. "You'll be fine. Both of you will be alright."

She stood before jutting her chin in Joel's direction. "Now go with him."

I sighed in defeat as Joel said something to the woman beside him.

He eyed us next. "You two - stay close. Let's go."

With his statement hanging in the air, Ellie and I exchanged glances before hesitantly following after him.

Before closing the door behind me, I looked back at Marlene. "Be safe."

She nodded in response, her brown eyes welling in hidden worry.

I exhaled as I turned away, jogging over to Ellie and Joel. "Well. Let's get this show on the road, then."


	2. quarantine zone

As Joel, Ellie, and I began our trek through the city, we all took notice of all the dead bodies littering the brick floor.

"Whoa...we heard all the shooting, but...what happened?" I asked as we all slowed down to a walk.

Joel sighed through his nose and went up to a body, grabbing what looked like a dog tag off the corpse's neck. "The Fireflies. And the same thing's gonna happen to us if we don't get off the street."

"You're the pro. We're just following you," Ellie shrugged as she glanced at me.

Joel bagged the dog tag and began leading us once again, picking up pace as we started jogging through the empty street.

Ellie and I stayed a few feet behind him as we ran in sync.

I said between pants, "Do you think this is a good idea? To go without Marlene?"

"No. I don't like this any more than you do. I don't trust Joel or the woman," Ellie exclaimed, her pink lips turning into a frown.

After the short exchange of words, an announcement spread through the QZ.

_Attention. Harboring or aiding wanted criminals is punishable by death. Do not place yourself at risk. Report any suspicious activity immediately._

The warning echoed in our ears before Joel led us down a staircase and into a small alleyway.

"Come on, keep up," Joel said, ducking low behind the fence.

"We are," Ellie huffed with an eye roll.

Joel finally stood again as multiple military trucks passed, making me suck in a breath as the idea of getting caught crossed my mind.

_Attention. Harboring or aiding wanted criminals is punishable by death. Do not place yourself at risk. Report any suspicious activity immediately._

As the robotic voice rang over the city, we left the alleyway and entered what looked like a large courtyard.

Ellie slowed down beside me and asked, "Where're we goin'?"

"Up there, that'll get us to the north tunnel," Joel said, motioning to a ledge and multiple sets of stairs that stood high against a brick building.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "How are supposed to reach that?"

"Just gimme a minute," Joel sighed as he ran off behind a wall, returning with a large dumpster.

Ellie and I moved out of the way as he pushed the large bin in front of the ledge and boosted himself up.

I motioned for Ellie to go next, following her up to the platform. As she lifted herself off the dumpster and onto the ledge, she turned and grabbed my hand, helping me up.

"Thanks, El," I mumbled, giving her a complaint smile, which she gladly returned.

"Hurry up, you two," Joel called from above, making Ellie and I quickly scramble up the flights of stairs before us.

"This tunnel," I suddenly started, breaking the silence that had settled over us. "You use it to smuggle things?"

"Yep," Joel quipped.

Ellie cocked her head to the side. "Like, illegal things?"

"Sometimes," Joel answered, clearly bored of our questions.

I hummed at his answer before Ellie asked, "You ever smuggle two kids before?"

"No," he said looking back at us. "This is a first. So, what's the deal between you two and Marlene anyway? Since we're asking questions,"

"I don't know," Ellie answered truthfully.

"She's our friend, I guess," I cut in, my eyes wandering the battered walls of the tunneled overpass we were walking through.

Joel laughed up ahead. "Your friend, huh? Your friends with the leader of the Fireflies? What're y'all, like, twelve?"

"She knew our moms," Ellie scoffed. "And she's been looking after both of us since I can remember."

I nodded my head in agreement. "And we're fourteen, not that that has anything to do with anything."

"So, where are your parents?" Joel asked, now leading us up another staircase.

"Psh, where are anyone's parents? They've been gone a long, long time," I said with a scoff.

"Yeah," Ellie said beside me.

Joel hummed at my claim. "So, instead of staying in school, you just decided to run off and join the fireflies, is that it?"

"Look, we're not supposed to tell you why you're smuggling us if that's what you're getting at," Ellie said, eyeing Joel a little.

"You know the best part about my job? I don't gotta know why. Be honest with you both, I could give two shits about what you're up to," Joel said.

"Well, great," Ellie snapped. A look of disgust slowly crept onto my face at his rudeness.

An awkward silence settled over us as we made our way to the end of the long hallway. Joel walked up to the very last door, sparing us a glance, and turned the handle. "This is it."

I followed after Ellie, taking in the blue stained walls and battered-looking living space. Ellie and I stood to the side a little skeptical as Joel walked over to the beige couch and laid down.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking at Joel's relaxed state.

Closing his eyes, he said, "Killing time."

"Well, what're we supposed to do?" I asked as Ellie nodded in agreement beside me.

"I am sure you will figure that out," Joel said unamused, clearly already regretting his decision to smuggle two kids.

Ellie scoffed beside me and walked over to the window that looked out over the quarantine zone. My eyes never left Joel as I walked past him, taking note of something. "Your watch is broken."

He didn't say anything back, just scoffed at my clear observation.

I rolled my eyes as I sat down beside Ellie in a matching beige loveseat. She grinned at me and scooted over slightly, giving me more room. I thanked her and took off my backpack, setting it beside hers, and sighing in relief at the weight taken off my shoulders.

"Well, he isn't very friendly," Ellie muttered beside me, looking at Joel over my shoulder.

"You're telling me," I said, a breathy laugh escaping me, the droning sound of rain beginning outside the apartment building. The sound caught our attention as we turned to the window, silently admiring the lights that flickered outside.

"El?" I said, scooching over to her, even if the space between us was already limited.

She hummed in response.

"Do you still worry? About turning?" I asked cautiously. I knew she hated talking about it, especially since she was the lucky one out of her and our other friend, Riley.

She slowly faced me. "To be honest, yeah. I worry that one day I'm going to wake up not being in control of my body, and end up biting you."

I didn't say anything as I stared into her eyes, the fear she felt practically pouring out.

"I miss Riley," She whispered suddenly, leaning into me.

"Me too," I breathed, pulling her closer to me.

As I guided her head to my shoulder, memories of the three of us flashed in my mind, my eyes lining with tears as I recalled the thrilling adventures we shared together. I was sure that Ellie felt the same way.

Another thought crossed my mind as my eyes flicked down to her figure, my eyes immediately finding her lips.

"Ellie?" I muttered her name again.

"Yeah?"

"Do you regret kissing me that day?" I asked, my stomach twisting with nerves.

She raised her head, probably a little shocked that I had brought it up. We still hadn't mentioned that moment since Riley and the bite.

"No. I don't," Ellie said, eyes glancing at Joel's sleeping person. "Can we talk about it later, though? When it's just us?"

I nodded, turning back to the window and the QZ lights.

Ellie rested her head on me again, her body slowly relaxing once again. Our breathing matched up as we watched the rain pour from the dark sky. 


	3. stragglers

"You mumble in your sleep," I said to Joel as he woke up.

Ellie looked at Joel, then turned back to the window. "I hate bad dreams."

"Yeah, me too," Joel mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Joel stood and walked over to the window, looking out.

I looked from him to the glass pane. "You know, we've never been this close. To the outside, I mean. Like, look how dark it is. Can't be any worse out there, can it?"

Ellie and I stood as we waited for his answer.

"What on earth do the Fireflies want with y'all?" Joel asked suddenly, no intention of answering my question.

Ellie looked like she was about to answer when the front door opened, the woman from earlier walking in.

"Hey, sorry I took so long. Soldiers fuckin' everywhere." She said.

"How's Marlene?" I asked quickly, eyes widening in hope.

"She'll make it," The lady answered.

She turned back to Joel. "I saw the merchandise. It's a lot. Wanna do this?"

"Yeah," Joel mumbled, nodding his head in confirmation. 

"Let's go," The woman said, walking past the three of us.

Following her into another room, we got a better look at the QZ around us.

"Tess, don't you think it's a bit strange that they're having us do their smugglin'?" Joel asked the brunette who was looking out a large window.

So that's her name, I thought to myself.

"Marlene wanted to do it herself. We weren't their first choice or the second for that matter. She lost a lot of men. Beggars can't be choosers." She said. Ellie and I looked at each other. How much does she know?

"Yeah, let's just hope there's someone alive to pay us," Joel replied, scratching his arm.

"Someone'll be around," Tess assured, walking over to a bookshelf and moving it out of the way, exposing a hole in the wall big enough for a single person to slip through. "Come on."

As I followed Ellie and Tess through, Joel right behind me, I saw that it was a makeshift elevator with a generator next to it. Ellie and I didn't say anything as we stood next to Tess as Joel started the generator, a small buzzing sound ejecting out of it. When he finished, he walked onto the platform and pressed a red button. The floor began to shift as the panel under us started to lower.

"So who's waiting for us at the drop off?" Joel asked Tess.

"She said that there's some Fireflies that had traveled all the way from another city. The girls must be important," Tess informed, looking between me and Ellie.

"What is the deal with you two? One of you some big-wig's daughter or something?" Tess questioned.

Ellie rubbed her chin before answering. "Something like that."

"How long is this all going to take?" I asked as the elevator came to a halt. It seemed to drop us off in a basement, a large hole presenting itself in a brick wall.

"If everything goes as planned, we should get you both there in a few hours," She said. "Ellie. Blake. Once we get through there, I need you both to follow our lead and stay close.

"Yeah, of course," I said, nodding alongside Ellie.

"Alrighty then, let's get a move on," Joel said, heading into the poorly lit tunnel.

I followed closely behind him, Ellie and Tess behind me, as I crawled through the small opening. The tunnel led to another small room, this time a pale yellow ladder was connected to one of the walls.

"Climb up and check if the coast is clear," Tess ordered Joel, who then began making his way to the top of the ladder.

As he did, I looked up at Tess. "We'll be okay, right? You can get us there?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it, kid," Tess said, her brown eyes meeting mine.

"Hey, Tess?" Joel called from above.

His tone wasn't the best.

"Yeah?" Tess called back, going up to the bottom of the ladder and looking up at her partner.

"There's a patrol up ahead - wait, we're clear. Come on up," Joel said.

Tess motioned for me to go first, so I grabbed the bar, and hauled myself up to where Joel was waiting.

"Come on, kids," Joel said, rushing us to hurry as he readied the piece of wood that acted as a seal.

Helping Ellie through the opening, Tess close behind her, we got up and began walking into the light drizzle, our eyes adjusting to the low light. 

"This rain ain't gonna do us any good," Joel said as he glanced around.

Meanwhile, Ellie and I were completely awestruck, taking in the feeling of being outside of a QZ.

"Holy shit...we're actually outside," Ellie said from beside me, her face contorting into a grin. My face copied hers as we continued forward, following Joel and Tess further away from the opening we just came through.

As the rain continued to beat down on us, we made our way through the mud, walking behind Joel, who led us to a large shipping container that was once connected to a truck. "Up this way."

With Joel leading the way, Ellie right behind him, and me behind her, we didn't see the soldier until Joel received a gun butt to the temple, making him stumble forwards.

The same person raised their gun at us, making us hold our hands up in retaliation. 

"Don't do anything stupid," A feminine voice said, and another person, a masculine voice this time, came up behind Tess. "Move."

Doing as we were told, we walked out of the truck, my heart thundering in my chest as they continued to point their weapons at us.

"Turn the other way and get on your knees," The woman said. She then turned to the man. "You scan them, I'll call it in."

"Alright," The man started. "Hands on your head."

As Tess got to her knees, Joel, Ellie, and I mimicked her actions. I kneeled beside Ellie, who exchanged nervous glances with me at the word scan.

The soldier behind us began talking, her voice clear as she said, "This is Ramirez at Sector Twelve. Requesting Pickup for three stragglers."

While she talked, the man got out the little rectangular scanner, bringing it up to Tess' neck.

I heard Tess say to the man, "Look the other way. We can make this worth your while."

The man simply told her to shut up, and it sparked my worry even more as the scanner began its procedure. He then moved to Joel, and finally, the person I was dreading, Ellie.

Ellie caught my gaze, a look of defiance in her eyes as the man stood behind her.

She began mumbling something, her eyes widening in concern, looking at me for help. But she was also trying to show me something, I realized, her eyes kept flicking down...towards her front pocket.

I looked down, finding a bulge in her left pocket. As her idea pieced together in my head, I quickly reached over, slipping my fingers into her pocket, grabbing hold of the switchblade's smooth wooden handle.

The soldier behind her began shouting as I switched the blade up, ramming it into the side of his knee. Ellie turned and elbowed his crotch, making him stumble and cry out. He pulled out his gun, aiming it at Ellie. At the sight of the raised gun, I got to my feet and grabbed the soldier's wrist, ruining his aim. He only struggled for a short second before throwing me off, making me stumble into Ellie, falling back against a large wooden crate.

The man aimed once again at us, both Ellie and I held up our hands, eyes shut tightly as the sound of gunfire went off, followed by grunts.

As we opened our eyes, Joel was just getting off the ground, and beside him Tess lowered her weapon, both of them turning to us.

I scooted back some more, forgetting that Ellie was behind me, and muttered profanities at what had just happened. Ellie shifted, now moving to my side as she asked, "Are you alright? I thought you took the bullet."

Nodding, I pulled her in for a short hug. She was tense for a moment but relaxed into my touch.

"He was going to shoot you," I whispered against her. She only nodded in response.

Pulling away, I handed her the switchblade. "Here. You'll need this back."

She thanked me, and our moment was broken when Tess interrupted. 

"Oh shit," She declared. 

Her eyes were focused on the scanner in her hand.

My eyes widened as I looked at Ellie. Her face was a mirroring image of mine. "Fuck."


	4. infected

"Look," Tess said, tossing the scanner to Joel, who was getting to his feet.

Taking a look at the little box that decided whether someone was infected with the cordyceps fungus or not, he muttered, "Jesus Christ."

He turned on us, then to Tess. "Marlene set us up? Why the hell are we smuggling an infected girl? Much less two."

"I'm not infected!" Ellie exclaimed, shaking her head violently.

"She's not," I said, trying my best to back her up.

Joel cocked his head. "No? So was this lying?"

He threw the scanner at us suddenly, making us jump slightly.

"I can explain," Ellie pleaded, looking up at the smugglers with wide eyes.

"You better explain fast," Tess said, coming up beside Joel, gun in hand.

Ellie rolled up her right sleeve. "Look at this!"

Joel scoffed, waving his hand as he turned away from Ellie's pleading. "I don't care how you got infected."

"It's three weeks old!" I cut in, desperately looking between Tess and Joel. Ellie nodded frantically beside me.

"No," Tess said matter-of-factly. "Everyone turns within two days. So you two better stop bullshitting."

"It's three weeks," Ellie said. "I swear."

"It's true. I was there when she got bit," I stated.

"And why would she set you up?" Ellie asked, looking from Tess to Joel.

Joel turned away from us. "I ain't buyin' it."

I opened my mouth to argue when bright lights shined in the distance. They began to get bigger.

"Oh shit," Joel muttered. "Tess, run. RUN!"

Tess's eyes widened as she grabbed mine and Ellie's arms, hauling us up urgently. "Go, go! Move!"

We found our footing and began running, following Joel and jumping off a slick ledge.

As we began to crawl under what looked like a fallen building, we heard the soldiers get out of the vehicle. "I got two dead uniforms. I repeat, two dead casualties in Sector Twelve. Requesting immediate backup..."

Finally standing to our full heights, Tess said, "Follow me. Quickly."

She ushered us to a concrete barricade, and we crouched as we looked over the edge.

"Alright you two," Tess said, turning to Ellie and I. "When I give you the signal, we run."

"Signal. Run. Got it," Ellie panted with a nod.

We waited for a split second before Tess said urgently, "Now. Run!"

Sprinting to the left, we followed Tess to another ledge, jumping into the dark valley that was in the muddy ground.

"Stay away from those lights," Tess warned as we began crouching, keeping our bodies low to avoid being seen.

Making our way over vents and under pipes, we moved quickly, and I knew all of us were sharing a similar thought right now. Stay low and fast.

As we backed against a large shipping container, Tess said, "Girls, it's gonna be another sprint. You both ready?"

"Sure," I breathed, hearing Ellie mumble a small "yeah" beside me.

As she nodded to us, we started to run through a narrow passageway, keeping our heads low and out of sight.

"Goddammit, they're everywhere," Joel said from ahead of us, leading us into a big drainage pipe.

Coming to the cutoff of the large tunnel, we hopped down, spotting more lights up ahead.

"Soldiers. Up ahead," Tess informed, her eyes squinting to see in the light rain. Joel muttered a response, and we watched as they slowly advanced on us.

"Must've gotten through," I heard one of them say. "Check the trenches!"

"Just stay back," Joel told us, heading to the left and through another valley. We followed him, keeping close to the brick wall we now found at our fingertips.

"I don't see anything down there. Are we sure they came this way?" A soldier from above asked.

"Unless we're told otherwise. We just keep scanning," Another answered.

Joel crept around the solid barrier, shuffling to the other side. When he made sure he was out of sight, he looked over at us, raising a hand and waving us over, telling us to hurry up. "Stay down and don't let 'em see you."

Following Joel through the maze of moving lights, Joel asked Tess, "You see anything?"

"Clear back here. How's it look up ahead?"

"So far so good," He praised, continuing to lead us to a hole in the side of a building.

Joel jumped down, landing in water. I went right after him, water splashing around my knees as I tried not to cringe at the low temperature.

Ellie and Tess landed near me, and I saw Ellie make a face matching mine. "It's cold."

I nodded in agreement as we followed Tess and Joel side by side.

Leading us to some fallen wood boards, they helped us up.

We seemed to be in what was leftover of a bombed building. Bits of wood and concrete were blown everywhere as we reached a doorway to the outside.

Climbing more of the building, Joel suddenly said, "I hear 'em up ahead."

"Hold up," Tess told us, holding out her hand to get Ellie and I to halt. "Shit, stay down."

Muffled voices came from up ahead, the flashlights constantly moving and leaving very little surface left for us to be unseen.

Joel guided us throughout the wrecked buildings, Tess taking up the rear and keeping us on track and up to pace.

"Okay, we can get through here," Joel informed us as we entered another room, a big metal storage door connecting us to, hopefully, our way of escape. He grabbed the chain next to us, inhaling as he began to pull, raising the door.

"Come on," Tess said, hand on our shoulders as she ushered us underneath.

When it was about halfway up, Joel stopped pulling and Tess took over, holding up the door with her hands for her partner.

Joel shuffled under and Tess let it fall to the ground.

"Oh, you have got to be shitting me," I muttered at the sight of more soldiers.

"Fuck, another patrol," Tess exclaimed, irritation laced in her voice.

We raced from car to car, making our way closer to more damaged buildings.

"There's so many of them out here. How are we supposed to get past 'em?" Ellie said from over my shoulder.

"They ain't spotted us yet, let's go around," Joel answered, leading us inside of the building.

"How's it look?" Tess asked as Joel got a little closer to a broken window.

He shook his head. "There's too many of 'em, Tess."

"Oh man," Ellie mumbled, clearly not liking the situation anymore than I was.

We continued to snake around lone objects, using them as cover. Being left undiscovered was the most important thing right now.

Hopping into another shipping container, Joel said, "Come on, through here."

Ellie climbed in first, grabbing my hand to help haul me up. We trailed Joel out into an open space, the only way out was down into a hole that led underground, or through more buildings that were filled with soldiers.

"Tess, you got any idea which way?" Joel asked, stopping for a moment and taking a look at our surroundings.

"Uh, it looks so different," She muttered, confusion evident on her face.

"Hang on, I found something," Joel said, beginning to climb down the trench in the ground, ushering us to follow him. He led us to another drain pipe. "Let's see where this leads."

Tailing Joel, he guided us into a new building, fully intact this time.

"Yeah," Tess began. "This looks right. Stay close you two."

Ellie and I stayed silent as we signaled we had heard her order.

"Well, at least we're out of the rain," Joel sighed, running up a short flight of stairs.

"How's it look?" Tess requested, her voice sounding slightly hopeful.

"I think we can squeeze through here," Joel replied, maneuvering through another hole in the wall.

"Shit. Shit!" Joel cursed. "I got more soldiers."

"Targets still on the loose, Sir!" A voice cried from above.

"Fucking hell," I swore, taking in the swaying lights ahead. We were in another trench.

Joel began moving. "I don't think they see us. Keep to the shadows."

Staying close to the ground, we managed to creep into another building, the basement being exposed to us, blocking off the rain and voices.

"Are we safe?" Ellie asked.

"No. They're still around. Just - take a moment to catch your breath," Tess turned to Joel. "Joel, see if there's anything we can use in here."

"Sure thing, Boss," Joel said, beginning to open stray lockers and look near the floors.

"God, I thought they had us for a second," Ellie said, looking from Tess to me.

"Yeah. I thought we were goners for sure," I exclaimed as Joel walked into another room. We followed him, letting him pick up a few supplies before I saw an opening.

"Joel. Tess. Look," I observed, pointing at the big crevice in the wall.

"That'll work," Joel said, moving in front and taking the lead as Tess, Ellie, and I followed.

Tess looked at Ellie and I as we walked. "Stay very close, you two."

"Ok," we answered in sync, entering a small room, water falling through the grated ceiling.

As the water rose up to our torsos, voices came from overhead.

"Woah, woah, woah. We got more soldiers, hurry up," Joel hissed, speeding up a little and stepping into the second part of the pipe we had come through.

There was a door at the end, and Joel opened it quickly, wasting no time as he did so.

Stepping through, I sighed in relief, taking a seat next to Ellie, who was already hunched over.

"Alright, they're gone," Joel breathed, looking up to make sure.

Tess crouched in front of us. "Look - what was the plan? Let's say that we deliver you both to the Fireflies, what then?"

I looked at Ellie.

"Marlene - she said that they have their own little quarantine zone. With doctors there; still trying to find a cure."

"Yeah, we heard that before, huh, Tess?" Joel cut in.

Ellie sighed before continuing to tell Tess what Marlene had told us a while back. "And that...whatever happened to me was the key to finding a vaccine."

"Oh, Jesus," Joel said with an eye roll.

"It's what she said," I snapped, defending Ellie.

"Oh, I'm sure she did," Joel remarked.

"Hey, fuck you, man," I hissed, getting up from my place on the ground.

Ellie followed suit. "We didn't ask for this."

"Me neither," Joel quipped. "Tess, what the hell are we doing here?"

"What if it's true?" Tess asked, standing back up.

Joel backed up slightly. "I can't believe...ugh."

"What if, Joel?" Tess remarked, going up to him."I mean we've come this far, let's just finish it."

Grabbing Tess's arm, he shoved her further away from us, leading her out of earshot.

"Why won't he just believe us," I muttered, playing with the ends of my backpack straps. "This would be so much easier."

"I know," Ellie sighed, looking at the smugglers in front of us. She opened her mouth to say more before Tess began walking off.

"Let's go, girls," She said to us.

Ellie and I glared at Joel as we walked past, almost daring him to say something as we followed Tess deeper into the abandoned city that surrounded us.


	5. clickers

"This way," Tess said, leading us to a broken overpass. "If we cut through downtown, we can hit the capitol building by sunrise."

"We hope," I heard Joel mutter from behind us.

Following Tess, we maneuvered around stray cars and concrete dividers, the four of us silent as we did. It was darker under the overpass, and water fell from up high, splashing our legs whenever we would get too close. At the end of the small pathway was a broken road leading up to the main street.

As we began to jog on the pavement, raindrops began to pour from the sky, severing our vision even more.

"Holy moly," Ellie exclaimed, looking up at the skyscrapers around us. "I guess this is what those buildings look like up close."

"They're so damn tall," I said, taking a moment to follow her line of vision. "So, what happened here?"

"They bombed the hell out of the surrounding areas to the quarantine zones, hoping to kill as much of the infected as possible," Tess answered from ahead. "It worked."

Running through the road with overgrown vegetation, a shriek came from ahead. It was incredibly loud, even in the rain.

"Um, Tess, you might want to rethink that," I said, having an idea about what made that noise.

"Uh, what the hell was that?" Ellie asked, her steps syncing with mine.

"Tess, you hear that?" Joel asked, his voice weary.

"Yeah. Sounded pretty far away though," Tess said, leading the way up another overpass.

"Are we safe?" Ellie questioned.

"For now," Tess said.

"Well, that's good, I guess," I muttered, not looking forward to the infected that will cross our paths soon.

"Damn, that's quite a drop," Ellie said as the overpass we walked on came to a dropoff. At the bottom was a small body of water.

"Look, there's that capitol building," Joel pointed to the right between two buildings.

"Yeah, we need to get around this mess," Tess stated, looking for a way around the sudden dead end.

"This is the downtown area?" I asked, bending slightly to get a better look at the bottom of the overpass.

"It was. Now it's a giant wasteland," Tess said.

"Hey, over here!" Joel interrupted from under a piece of fallen debris. "We can cut through under here."

We let him guide us through, leading us to an open area. Tess told Ellie and I to take a quick sweep of the area while Joel went to another section.

"You find anything over there?" Joel called.

"No," Tess hollered back.

Joel told us to keep looking.

"There's nothing here, though," I said as Ellie and I walked the perimeter of the small courtyard.

"Nothing but trees, bricks, and a whole bunch of debris," Ellie sighed, kicking a rock by her foot.

"Hey, Tess!" Joel suddenly yelled.

"Comin'!" Tess replied. She waved us over and we spotted Joel in a small opening of a tall skyscraper.

We all walked through the open door, and I gasped at the sight of a dead body.

"He's been ripped apart," Tess noted. "Body's pretty fresh."

"Is that bad?" I asked, Ellie's breath tickling my neck as she looked over my shoulder.

"Yeah, might be. Let's not stick around," Tess said wearily.

Following Joel, we walked deeper into the skyscraper. It seemed to be the leftovers of an office building.

"Come on, this way," Joel said, leading us up a flight of stairs.

"Another one. Shit," Tess muttered as we spotted another corpse.

Joel reached down, grabbing a piece of paper off the uniform. His eyes scanned over the note before saying "Looks like these guys died waiting for backup."

We traveled up another flight of stairs, coming up on an open doorway. With Joel walking in first, his breath turned shaky. "Goddammit. Clicker."

"Geez, what's wrong with its face?" I asked stepping into the room, watching as Joel tore the body away from the door frame it was encrusted on.

"That's what years of infection'll do to you," Tess said.

"So what? Are they...blind?" Ellie questioned beside me.

Joel began to ram his shoulder at the door, trying to open it.

"Sort of. They see using sound."

"Like bats?" I wondered out loud.

"Like bats. If you hear one clicking, you gotta hide, that's how they spot you," Tess warned just as Joel managed to expose the room that was on the other side of the door.

Joel walked further into the room, us tailing him when the building started to creak around us.

"Shit," I muttered, the ground moving under my feet.

"Whole building feels like it's about to fall apart," Joel observed, walking underneath a fallen filing cabinet. "Watch your heads."

I lead the way next, shadowing Joel and his movements. We had barely stepped into the next room when an office chair rolled beside us. This building is going to fall very, very soon.

"Totally cool. Everything is totally cool," Ellie muttered, eyes locked on the moving leather chair.

Joel tried the white door that led out. "Tess, gimme a hand with this."

The two rammed into the barrier three times before it finally budged, Joel stumbling at the sudden movement.

I peeked my head into the room, following Tess when I saw a being similar to the clicker on the doorframe from earlier. It was heading straight towards Joel, it's screeching almost deafening.

"Joel!" I shouted, pointing behind him.

The clicker slammed into him, knocking him onto his back as it scratched at his face. I stared in horror, sure that we would be next.

But Tess had other ideas.

She kicked the infected away, pushing it away from Joel, and fired her pistol twice, killing the walking mushroom, it's screaming falling away.

"Thanks," Joel breathed as he got to his feet.

"You alright?" Ellie asked, worry evident on her face.

"It's nothing'," Joel assured.

"Shit, that was intense," I sighed, walking behind Tess.

"You said it, kid," She responded. She handed something to Joel. "Here, patch yourself up."

"Appreciate it," Joel said as he took the object. I saw it was a small medkit. He began to tie a bandage around his right forearm, red blotches seeping through the material. I winced at the sight. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Tess led us to another room, this time into a broken stairwell. A body hung from the railing, it's leg being the only thing keeping it up.

"Sheesh," I said, noting the pool of blood underneath it.

"See if there's a way through," Joel told Tess, standing against the wall, positioning himself to boost her up. She nodded before placing a foot in his hands and a hand on his shoulder. Joel grunted as he pushed her up, backing away from the wall once he did.

Tess looked around before crouching and reaching out her hand. "It's clear. Come on, Ellie."

"Alright, kid, you're up," Joel sighed, backing up to give her space.

Ellie walked up to the ledge and brought back her arms, giving her leverage as she jumped up, taking Tess's outstretched hand.

Tess tugged Ellie up, grabbing her leg to help her. "There you go."

Ellie dusted herself off before Tess leaned down again, reaching for me.

I moved up to the tall surface, grabbing Tess's hand and letting her pull me up. When I got close enough, I braced a hand on the ledge, helping support my weight by climbing.

Ellie grabbed my hand, replacing Tess's, and helped pull me to my feet. I thanked her as we turned to Tess lifting Joel.

As Joel finally stood, a loud clicking sound came from the hallway connected to the room, making us all snap our heads to the right.

"Clickers?" Ellie asked meekly.

"Oh shit, Go, go, go!" Joel said, pushing Tess ahead of him, and us in front of her, ushering us into another room.

We skidded behind a rundown-looking counter, pressing our bodies as close as possible. Ellie and I stared at each other, fear radiating off the two of us, our faces only inches apart.

The clicker had followed us, the chittering of the infected echoing from the other side of the counter, the noise incredibly close to our figures.

Getting bored, the clicker wandered off, still clicking as if looking for other non infected.

Tess grabbed a bottle from the ground, looking my way before peeking her head to take a look at where the clicker was before she threw it near a wall, luring the infected that way. She turned to Ellie and I. "Stay close and do not make a sound.

I nodded quickly, my heart pounding in my chest as we began to move away from our hiding spot.

We all kept low to the ground, not wanting to risk taking up more space and making noise, especially now.

Joel led us through the maze-like building, guiding us to an exit.

We halted near a wall, staying close to the brown walls.

"That's our way out, over the scaffolding," Joel whispered, subtly pointing to the large object. "Let's go."

We semi-ran to it, and I braced my hands on the edge, lifting myself from the ground quickly, trying to keep the noise down.

When my feet touched the ground on the other side, I let out a small sigh of relief.

"I think that's it. Ellie, Blake, are you two okay?" Tess asked looking down at us while Joel walked over to another dead body, picking up something from it.

"Other than shitting my pants...I'm fine," I breathed, looking over at Ellie, who had a small grin tugging at her lips.

"Yeah, those things are ugly as fuck, not to mention scary," Ellie agreed.

Tess nodded. "Alrighty, let's go."

"Hold on, gimme second," Joel said as he hopped the railing. "There's something blocking the way."

He grabbed what seemed to be a large filing cabinet and tugged it with him, pulling it out to make room for the three of us. "There you go, ladies."

I gave my thanks before following Tess and vaulting over the iron fencing, landing on the concrete below.

"Ok you two," Tess said to Ellie and I. "Come on."

We jumped down from the cut-off ledge.

"Damn, the stairwell's blocked," Ellie said. "Should we go back up?"

"No, we'll go this way," Tess said, eyeing the broken window next to her. It was connected to an iron platform, seemingly two elevators touching each other.

She stepped over, the metal creaking under her weight.

"This is crazy," I muttered, following her footsteps and climbing over, giving Ellie a knowing look as I passed.

"Just - don't look down," Tess said. You could tell even she was unsure about this.

"Are you serious?" Ellie exclaimed as the balls of my feet braced the surface. It swayed underneath me, making me hold out my arms a little.

"This is crazy," I mumbled, watching Tess run up and continue her way over the grated platform.

"You're tellin' me," I heard Ellie say as she made her way over the rail, trying her best to walk to me.

Making it to the edge of the first platform, I climbed over, jumping down to the next one, trying to stay on my feet. Ellie came after me, and soon Joel.

When Joel touched down, the metal creaked loudly and swayed heavily, making me grab onto Ellie, trying to keep myself up.

Ellie's eyes widened and she grabbed my hand, holding out her other one for balance.

"Oh fuck," I muttered as the moving came to a stop.

"Come on you two," Tess said from a terrace that connected to the side of the building.

Ellie and I climbed up, desperate to be on something solid.

We pushed our backs against the building's outer surface, our movements short and simple.

"Don't look down. Just don't look down," Ellie said under her breath as we moved.

"You're okay. We gotta move through it," Tess assured as Joel finally got beside Ellie and began moving with us.

On the other side was a broken glass pane, and Tess went first, making sure the area was clear before Ellie and I went into the upper stairwell.

Tess disconnected her flashlight from her backpack, preferring to hold it in her left hand as we moved from room to room.

As we walked through, more dead bodies littered the floor, and sounds of infected became clear.

"Runners," Tess told Joel as she readied her gun.

Joel looked at us and then Tess. "I'll go check it out, you stay with the girls."

With that, he walked through a broken door frame and jumped down. We watched his body disappear into the sea of inhuman noises.


	6. it's called luck

"God, this is nerve-wracking," Ellie said beside me as we waited, the thought of Joel dying thrumming in my brain.

I nodded in agreement as I stared at the empty doorway that he had jumped down from.

"There's no need to worry," Tess said. "Joel's done a lot worse in his past than kill a few runners."

Ellie and I shared a look.

"But there's still a possibility that he could slip up," I implied.

"He's not going to slip up, Blake," Tess said surely.

I opened my mouth to argue some more when there was a loud screech beneath us.

It died as quickly as it came.

"Alright, come on down," Joel called from down below.

"See?" Tess raised a brow as she passed me, hopping down to where Joel was.

"Guess she proved you wrong," Ellie said with a smirk, grabbing my arm and pulling when I didn't move.

Rolling my eyes I mumbled, "Whatever. It was one time."

"That will probably turn into more," Ellie reiterated before disappearing.

I scoffed before jumping down, landing on my feet next to her.

Tess whistled ahead of us, looking around at all the dead infected. "I'm impressed, Joel."

I hummed in agreement, noting that he didn't once have to pull out his gun, but instead did it all silently.

"Pssh," Joel said, pushing off the compliment. "Let's just get outta here."

"I'm with you on that," Ellie said as we began once again allowing the adults to lead us to, hopefully, a way out of this building.

We walked into another room, this time with half the ceiling missing, and fallen chunks of cement hanging from the ceiling, giving us a view of the next floor up.

Looking around, there was a large filing cabinet blocking the door out. Joel walked up to it, gripping the handles, and pulled it back. There was a strain in his voice when he said, "Alright, Tess, go."

She quickly opened the door, letting Ellie and I go first before she rushed up to an extremely large printer. "Okay, this'll work. You two, gimme a hand with this."

We jogged up beside her and braced our hands on it, pushing the printer through the doorway, keeping the door open.

"Alright, that should do it," Tess sighed as we finally let go, letting Joel hop over.

Joel grabbed a few supplies from off the ground as Tess said, "See? Doin' alright..."

"Uh, huh," Joel hummed sarcastically.

We walked out of the room and into what was once a hallway but was now wrecked because of the bombings. The ground under us was cut short, and the area around us open, exposing vegetation and other rooms.

Ellie and I leaned over the cutoff.

"Whoa," Ellie said, her eyes roaming over the ground.

"Down we go," Tess enunciated, letting Joel show us the way.

"Let's get to it," Joel said. "We can get through here. And make sure to watch your backs."

We crawled under a broken vent, making our way to the other side.

Continuing to move down the building, the sound of birds filled our ears, giving me a sense of peace even if it didn't seem that way at the moment.

"You know I was thinkin'," Tess started, breaking the silence between the four of us. "After we get back, we can take it easy for a little while."

I followed Joel under a broken pipe.

"You want to take it easy?" Joel asked. He seemed to not believe her words.

"Hey, you're the one always going on about layin' low," Tess shot back.

"And you always brushed me off," Joel said, his voice unsure.

Tess sighed. "Well, I won't this time."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Joel said with a shake of his head and glimpsing over his shoulder, making sure we were still behind him as we came to an opening that led deeper. "Through here."

The further we went, the darker it got, making it harder to see.

"Tess, through here," Joel called from in front of me.

Tess, Ellie, and I jumped down from a ledge, and I looked around, noticing that we were in a subway station.

"Oh shit. Joel, look at his sleeve," Tess said, walking up to a corpse. "Firefly."

"Yep. These guys aren't doin' so well in or out of the city," Joel said as he picked up a molotov cocktail from the body's hand. "Now, let's hope there's someone alive to meet us at the drop-off."

Ellie suddenly tugged at my sleeve, making me turn to her. She gestured to the stairs leading up. I followed her to them, the adults continuing to search the area.

"Do you actually think there is someone at the drop-off?" Ellie muttered as she pulled me aside.

I scratched my bicep. "Let's hope so. I don't want this to all be for nothing."

"Yeah," Ellie sighed, looking like there was more she wanted to say.

"They're from the quarantine zone," Joel stated, making all three of us turn our attention to him.

"See?" Tess said. "They're not our guys."

Joel bagged the note he had in his hand, waving us over. "We can go through here. Watch your heads."

We crouched under some broken pillars, walking deeper into the station. We had just walked out of the other side when a clicker walked past, making us all stop suddenly at the sight of the fungal-infested body.

Tess cursed under her breath as she moved up to a fallen vending machine, using it as cover. "God, we're almost out, too."

We crawled up beside her, peeking our heads above the vending machine.

"Okay, Joel, you take point. I'll watch the rear," Tess instructed Joel before turning to us. "Ellie, Blake. No matter what you stay right on his heels."

"Sure," Ellie and I said at the same time, moving around Tess and behind Joel, but giving him enough space to not crowd him.

"Here we go," Joel whispered before beginning to lead us through the subway's food court.

Clicking and chittering surrounded us as we moved, trying to stay quiet and at least three feet away from the clickers, more if possible. We weaved in and out of the stores, watching our steps as we went.

Managing to get to the other side, up by the gates, Joel sighed to himself before mumbling to us, "This way. We're almost out of this, c'mon."

Next to the gate was a clicker, but it seemed to be resting, as it was not actively clicking or searching for that matter.

"There. We need to get to that ladder," Tess whispered, pointing just above the infected.

Joel gave her a curt nod before telling us to wait and snuck up on the clicker, ramming a knife into its neck, killing it.

He set the body down and then stood to his full height, lacing his fingers together, and bending his knees slightly, ready to boost Tess up.

Tess grabbed the metal ladder quickly while Ellie and I kept watch, glancing nervously at the clickers behind us.

"Okay you two, let's go," Tess said, leading the way up.

We quickly scrambled up the ladder, wasting no time to be heard by the clickers. Jumping down from the platform, I sighed with relief, the feeling of a heavy weight lifting off my chest.

"Holy shit, we actually made it out of there," I breathed, a small smile beginning to grow on my face.

"Everyone okay?" Joel asked as we began to jog on the subway tracks.

"Yeah. Let's move," Tess said.

"You guys are pretty good at this stuff," Ellie complimented.

Joel scoffed. "It's called luck, and it's going to run out soon."

We resurfaced, the concrete turning to pavement under our feet as we walked.

"Which way we goin', Tess?" Joel asked, his voice rushed.

"Uh...Capitol building's in this direction," Tess pointed to our right, just between two brick buildings. Unfortunately, there was a big cargo truck blocking our direction.

"How do we get over this truck?" Tess wondered out loud, beginning to look around.

"Let's just see what we can find," Joel said, walking over to the building to our left.

He walked up to a hole that was in the wall before he stopped, turning to us and telling us to be quiet.

Ellie met my eyes quickly before Tess asked what's wrong.

Joel didn't answer, just crouched as he moved into the building.

I soon learned that there were two runners inside, right next to a wooden crate on wheels, perfect for getting us over the truck.

Joel pushed it out against the truck's shipping container, and we all climbed over, not wanting to see anymore infected that were hiding in the area.

Tess walked ahead of us, waving Joel over when she found a storage door.

"We can probably cut through there," Joel muttered to no one in particular as he grabbed the chain and began to pull.

Not even three seconds into pulling and cries echoed from not too far away.

"Shit. Come on, Joel, work double-time," Tess said urgently, shaking Joel's shoulder.

I peeked over the edge of the building, eyes widening when I saw the amount of infected coming our way. I patted Ellie's shoulder, getting her attention. "Guys, they're coming!"

"I know," Joel gritted, pulling the chain harshly.

It was about two feet off the ground when Tess grabbed our hands. "This is good enough, let's go."

Ellie and I scrambled under, rushing back as Tess held up the door for Joel, only for a runner to grab his leg when he was halfway through.

He pulled back, and Tess let the door drop on the infected, cutting the runner's arm clean off, it's hand still wrapped around Joel's ankle.

Joel didn't seem to notice, his eyes trained on the door that was being pounded by the infected desperate to get in.

"Uh, Joel, you got something on your foot," Ellie said, pointing to the arm.

He cringed and shook off the limb, muttering gross, and turned around, facing the garage we found ourselves in.


	7. capitol building

Metal clanked underneath me as I jogged up the stairs, following Tess to the roof of the museum.

My breath came out in short exhales, adrenaline still fresh in my veins from facing the infected inside the building below us. God, that was intense.

Joel and Tess slowed as we came to the top of the stairs, the semi-destroyed city surrounding us. The sun was setting, making everything it touched glow a beautiful pink-orange, purple clouds dusting the sky.

"Look," Tess pointed ahead. "There's the capitol building. We just have to cross over to that building in front of us."

Joel nodded briefly before walking to a corner of the roof and bending down, grabbing a long wooden plank, and picking it up, carrying it to the edge of the building. He placed it between the two structures, giving us something to walk on.

"Now, watch your step as you're going up cause it's a little-," Joel started, only for Ellie to scoff, ignoring his words and stepping up. She held out her arms for balance as she crossed between the gap. Joel looked over at Tess and I, giving us a look that seemed to say is she serious?

I shrugged, looking over at Ellie, who was now on the other side. She waved and then cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "Are you too scared? Or is there another reason you're not coming yet, Blake?"

I rolled my eyes, beaming from ear to ear at her tone, and shaking my head as I stepped around Joel and got onto the plank, copying Ellie's actions as I began to walk.

Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't. Look. Down. I said over and over to myself, maintaining eye contact with Ellie as I walked, trying to focus on her irises as I balanced.

I wasn't scared of heights, but, I'm sure as any normal human would feel, I was really uncomfortable with the thought of splattering on the ground with one slip-up.

Jumping down beside Ellie, she gave me a smirk.

"You know, for a good two seconds, I thought you were going to chicken out and make us find another way around the building," She teased, pushing me softly.

"Oh please," I mused before Joel and Tess stepped down behind us. Ellie and I turned and looked in the direction of the capitol building, watching as light bounced off of the dome.

Joel glanced at us, then the capitol building. "Well, is that everything you two hoped for?"

"Jury's still out," Ellie said with a shrug, answering for the both of us.

"You can't deny that view, though," I sighed, my lips curling into a smile.

A grin crept onto Joel's face as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking between Ellie and I.

Tess interrupted the moment. "C'mon, this way."

Ellie nodded as we followed her, climbing down the ladder that took us back to the streets.

—

The door creaked when Joel opened it, followed by him sighing.

Tess and Joel walked into the building rather quickly, Ellie and I right behind them, our faces dropping at the sight of bodies surrounded by pools of blood on the marble floor.

"No, no, no, no!" Tess exclaimed, running up to one of the corpses, her face filled with desperation.

Joel shut the door behind me, the look on his face was the complete opposite of Tess's - irritation.

"What...what happens now?" Ellie asked, looking from me to Joel.

He didn't answer, instead walked over to Tess, who was patting down the dead Firefly. "What're you doing, Tess?"

She ignored him for a second before she answered, her eyes frantic as she looked around. "Maybe they, uh, maybe they had a map or something to tell us where they were going."

"How far are we gonna take this?" Joel scoffed.

"As far as it needs to go!" Tess said, her voice rising as she got to her feet.

She suddenly turned to us, making eye contact with me. "Where was this lab of theirs?"

"Um, she never said," I told them, hesitation in my voice, my eyes switching between Ellie and Tess as I talked. "She only mentioned it was someplace out west."

"What're we doin' here? This is not us," Joel asked. He was beginning to sound worried about his partner.

Tess's eyebrows narrowed. "What do you know about us? About me?"

"I know that you are smarter than this."

"Really?" Tess shook her head in disbelief. "Guess what, we're shitty people, Joel. It's been that way for a long time."

"No, we are survivors!" Joel objected.

"This is our chance-"

"It is over, Tess!"

Joel's outburst left everyone silent. Ellie and I found ourselves getting subconsciously closer at the tension building in the room.

"Now, we tried," Joel started. "Let's just go home."

Something changed in Tess's eyes. "I'm not...I'm not going anywhere. This is my last stop."

"What?"

"Our luck had to run out sooner or later," Tess said, shaking her head and turning around.

"What are you goin' on about-" Joel tried to ask, reaching for Tess's shoulder.

She whipped around, shoving his hand away. "No, don't - don't touch me."

Silence filled the room for a short second before it was broken again.

"Holy shit," Ellie muttered beside me, her eyes widening. "She's infected."


	8. a sudden goodbye

"What?" I said out loud, the gears in my mind slowly beginning to turn at Ellie's words.

Joel looked from Ellie to Tess, an unreadable expression on his face as he backed away from Tess slowly.

"Joel..." Tess whispered, willing him to understand.

"Let me see it," Joel said.

"I didn't mean for this-"

"Show it to me," Joel demanded, his face contorting into a look of disgust.

Tess didn't say anything as she yanked the collar of her shirt, exposing her skin and the bite that was there.

Joel scoffed slightly as he said, "Oh, Christ."

"Oops, right?" Tess said, her voice laced with sarcasm before she turned over to Ellie. "Give me your arm."

She speed walked over, grabbing Ellie's forearm and bunching up the fabric of her black long-sleeve shirt, exposing her own bite. I backed up slightly, away from Tess.

"This was three weeks. I was bitten an hour ago and it's already worse." She dragged Ellie over to Joel. "This is fucking real, Joel. You have got to get this girl to Tommy's. He used to run with this crew, he'll know where to go."

"No, no, no. That was your crusade. I am not doin' that." Joel argued.

Tess kept pushing. "Yes, you are. Look, there's enough here that you have to feel some sort of obligation to me. So you get her - you get them to Tommy's."

Movement outside of the window caught my eye, and I moved to the pane, my face dropping. "Guys, they found us."

"What?" Tess said, running up beside me. We watched as the soldiers jumped down from the truck. "Shit, they're here."

"Dammit," Joel ran a hand over his face.

"What are we gonna do?" Ellie asked, her green eyes wide with worry.

"I'm going to buy you guys some time, but you have to run," Tess answered.

"What?" I muttered. "You want us to just leave you here?"

She turned to me. "Yes."

"There's no way that-" Joel started, Tess cutting him off.

"I will not turn into one of those things!" Tess exclaimed, walking up to Joel, their bodies only inches apart. "Come on, make this easy for me."

"Well, I can fight-"

"No! Just go! All of you, just go!" She pushed Joel away. "Just fucking go."

Joel stared at Tess for a few seconds before his eyes landed on the two of us. "Ellie. Blake."

"I'm-I'm sorry," Ellie stuttered out.

"We didn't mean for any of this to happen," I promised, beginning to walk towards Joel.

He didn't look at us, only Tess as he said, "Get a move on."

I opened my mouth to say something else when Ellie grabbed my hand, pulling me away and with her, jogging to the door in the back.

My amber eyes turned to her green ones. "What have we done?"

—

I sighed as I tugged off my gas mask, taking a deep breath of the fresh air, thankful to be out of the spore-infested subway station.

Joel did the same as he took a seat on a large rock.

"I still don't understand how you're able to breathe those things in. Every time you do it, it leaves me shocked," I mutter to Ellie, shaking my head in disbelief as I shove my mask back into my backpack.

"It really doesn't feel any different than breathing in this air-" She started, but Joel cut off her words, his tone sour.

"Here's how things are going to play out, girls. I don't want to hear anything about Tess and what went down in that building. Ever. Matter of fact, we can just keep our histories to ourselves. Secondly," He made eye contact with Ellie. "Don't tell anyone about your...condition. They'll think you're crazy or try to kill you. And lastly, you both do what I say, when I say it. We clear?"

"Sure," Ellie mumbled as I nodded my head.

"Repeat it," Joel ordered.

I inhaled before saying, "What you say, goes."

"Good," He muttered, looking around a little before getting to his feet. "Now, there's a town a few miles north of here. There's a fella there that owes me some favors...good chance he could get us a car."

"Alright," Ellie nodded. I copied her action.

"Let's get a move on," Joel said, walking off.

I sighed through my nose before following, Ellie right behind me.


	9. bill's town

"Do you think we're close?" Ellie mumbled next to me.

"I sure hope so, my feet hurt," I sighed as we walked, keeping our distance from Joel who was a few feet ahead of us.

"Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"What if they do make a vaccine? What do you think'll happen to the world?" I asked, meeting her eyes as I finished my sentence.

"I don't know. I just hope we won't have to constantly live in fear and watch our backs," Ellie answered with a slight shrug.

I nodded in agreement, another thought crossing my mind as we walked, the sun beginning to rise in the horizon.

"But what happens if it's like the comics and they have to kill you?" I blurted out.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly as it sounds. What happens if you have to risk your life just to find a cure?"

Ellie sighed through her nose. "I guess I'll die then. It's one life over millions."

I stayed quiet as I processed her words, and I came to the silent conclusion that I didn't like them.

"Girls, it's just ahead," Joel suddenly announced, pointing to a water tower.

"It'll be faster if we cut through here," he said, hopping the side of the road and into the outskirts of a small wood.

We followed him, our eyes wandering all around, taking in the smell of nature and the sound of birds we didn't hear on the road.

"Man..." I mumbled, my eyes raking up tall trees.

"What? Why do you both look like you've never seen this before?" Joel asked.

"Because we haven't," Ellie answered for the both of us.

"You've never been in the woods?"

"Nope," I said, continuing to follow Joel through the greenery.

The sound of crickets met my ears as we walked deeper, nature's orchestra seemingly getting louder and louder.

"This is so cool," I exclaimed, a bright smile on my face.

"For real," Ellie whispered beside me.

A moment of silence covered us for a short minute before Ellie broke it. "Why don't you just take us back to Marlene?"

"If she was up to the task, why'd she drop y'all off on us?" Joel said.

"Well, maybe she's better now," Ellie shrugged.

"Kid, look - your friend's chances of survival weren't too high, to begin with," Joel glanced at us over his shoulder.

"Actually, she's a lot tougher than you think," I cut in.

Joel shook his head. "It don't matter. 'Cause I doubt I could get any one of us back to the city in one piece. Trust me; I wish there was some other option."

The trip through the woods didn't last as long as I'd hoped, as we came up on the water tower and a fence that looked like it led inside the town rather quickly. Joel walked up to the gate, shaking it a bit before sighing and saying, "Shit. It's locked."

"Should we climb it?" Ellie suggested.

Joel shook his head. "No, wire's on top of it. We gotta find another way around."

With that said, Joel took the lead, making his way around the fence. When Ellie and I followed, something caught my eye.

"Ellie, look!" I whispered, pointing at the air around us.

She gasped at the same time I did.

"Whoa...fireflies. Real fireflies," She mumbled, watching as they surrounded us and buzzed next to our ears.

"Yeah, we see that," Joel said up ahead. "Come on, let's get a move on."

I scowled a little at the rudeness.

"Sorry," Ellie apologized. "I guess we just lost ourselves for a second."

Joel didn't say anything back, he only climbed up the building closest to us. We followed him as he placed a wooden plank across the gap, giving us something to cross.

As we walked along the creaky surface, a large cloud of smoke came into view, spiraling into the sky.

"That you, Bill?" Joel said to himself.

"Where do you usually meet him?" I asked as we climbed down.

"Huh? Oh, uh, different places," Joel sounded unsure.

"You've never been here, have you?" Ellie accused.

"I know this is where he lives, but, no, I ain't ever been here personally."

"And that smoke, you think that's him?" I said.

Joel sighed. "Sure as hell better be."

"Well, let's go check it out then," Ellie suggested as I nodded.

"Alright, then. Come on," Joel said.

We made our way down the hill we were on, traveling deeper into the town, leaving the outskirts behind.

"Down here," Joel called from ahead, jumping down a ledge. "Watch your step, it's a pretty good drop."

We hopped down behind him and immediately froze at the sound of infected a little further away. Joel placed a finger over his lips and motioned for us to follow him.

Ellie and I crouched as we walked, not wanting to risk making any sudden and loud noises that gives our positions away. Joel began to step down, making his way to the shed when he suddenly froze. "Shit, stay back."

Doing as told, we halted in our tracks, giving him time to shiv a clicker in the wooden shack. Joel turned to us. "Ok, we're going to go inside that house just up there, see if there's any supplies."

We nodded, seeing no reason to argue as we climbed up the stairs and entered the building. Closing the door behind me, Joel began to scavenge the place, picking up duct tape, rags, anything he could find that would be of use to us.

Ellie and I stood off to the side, letting the smuggler do his thing when Ellie suddenly made a weird noise.

"Are you alright?" Joel called from another room.

"Yeah, I'm trying to learn how to whistle," She said, puckering her lips and failing to make a smooth noise come out.

"You can't whistle?" I asked. "I've known you for almost two years, and I didn't know you couldn't whistle."

I started giggling as Joel said, "You don't know how to whistle?"

"Does it sound like I know how to whistle?" Ellie shot back, shoving me for laughing at her. Joel just shook his head at her.

"Do you know how to whistle?" Ellie raised a brow at me.

I puckered my lips and let a single note escape.

"Of course you know how to whistle," She muttered, clearly annoyed.

"Oh don't be such a debbie-downer, you'll learn eventually," I reassured, watching Joel come back into the room. "Alright, I've got everything I could find. Now, let's go find Bill."

We followed him out, hopping over the porch railing and down by another gate. Joel walked up to it and tried to open it. "Ah, shit. It's jammed from the other side."

"Here, boost me up," I exclaimed, walking closer to the fence.

Joel looked up. "No, no, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Well, we can't boost you up. How else are we going to get inside?" I said matter-of-factly.

"She's got a point," Ellie muttered beside me. I nodded in confirmation.

"Alright, then. C'mere." Joel said, leaning against the fence and lacing his fingers together.

I put my foot in his hands and took a step at the same time Joel pushed up, grabbing the wooden board at the top of the gate. I struggled a little as I swung my leg over, shuffling to the other side and letting go, landing on my feet.

"Just open it," Joel started, "Nothing else."

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, removing the crowbar that was pushed through the handles, and opening the gate. "Ta-da!"

"Well done, could not have done it better myself," Ellie praised with a light clap.

"Yeah, good job, kid," Joel said next.

"Why, thank you," I said with a mocking bow as Joel and Ellie walked through.

The town was quiet as we moved through it, the only sound was birds calling to each other, or the sound of our footsteps on the pavement.

"Okay, let's say we do get a car from this buddy of yours. Then what?" Ellie asked suddenly.

"Well, then we go find Tommy," Joel answered.

"Marlene said he's your brother?" I said.

"More importantly a Firefly. He'd know where to take you." Joel picked up a few supplies as we walked. "He lives far from here, which is why we need a car."

I nodded. "Okay."

Ellie's eyes widened beside me. "Hey, look! Gnomes!"

She ran ahead of us, bending down a little.

"Yep, those are gnomes," Joel said flatly.

I jogged up beside her, taking in the small stone creatures with red hats. "Didn't you have an art book filled with those?"

"I did! I always thought they were super cute," Ellie said with a smile that suddenly faltered. "Not fairies though. They creep me out."

"Really? I would take fairies over gnomes any day of the week. These look like they'd kill you in your sleep," I stated, leaning over Ellie's shoulder to get a better look at the statues.

"What?! No way. Blake, you've lost your mind. Gnomes look like they'd help you build a house or something. Fairies look like they'd burn it to the ground," Ellie looked up at me.

"Mm, I don't know about that. I once read a book where there were a bunch of killer gnomes that tried to cook a kid alive," I frowned.

"Well-"

"Okay kids, let's get a move on," Joel interrupted, clearly irritated at our constant talking.

I muttered a "sorry" and stood to my full height, helping Ellie up, and then trailing Joel into a bar. There were chairs and bottles scattered throughout the building, but that's not the first thing that caught my eye.

"Ellie," I muttered, tapping her and pointing at the gaming system over by the booths.

"Well, would you look at that," She whispered, walking up to it and running the pads of her fingers over the dusty surface.

My mind wandered to Riley as I watched Ellie trace her hand over the words The Turning.

Man, I miss her so much.

"What? Did you two play this before?" Joel asked.

I shook my head. "Nah. But we had a friend that knew everything about this game."

"Yeah," Ellie agreed. "Apparently, there's this character called Angel Knives who'd...what was it? She'd punch a hole through your stomach before kicking your head off."

Joel made a noise that sounded like a mix of a laugh and a scoff. "Well, I was never a big fan of these things."

"I wish we could play it," I sighed, running my hand up the side of the game.

"Me too," Ellie said before a wave of silence washed over us again.

Joel led us outside, and down the road. We passed multiple shops and restaurants along the way.

"What do you think it was like? Before the outbreak, I mean," I abruptly said, talking to Ellie.

"I dunno. It was probably busy, though," Ellie replied with a frown. She looked like she was trying to picture the town full of people.

Joel led us into a music shop called Marquis.

Records of all sorts surrounded us as we looked around, Joel specifically scavenging the place for supplies.

"Blake! Look at this one!" Ellie called, waving me over to a stack of records on a shelf. She held up one titled AM by the band Arctic Monkeys. "What kind of band name is that?"

I laughed through my nose. "I don't know. It sounds dope though. What songs are on it?"

She flipped the album and we both scanned the back, looking at the songs.

"That one sounds like it'd be sick," I said, pointing to the song I Wanna Be Yours.

"Let's take it. We can listen to it when we find a place with a record player," Ellie stated firmly, taking her backpack off and stuffing the record inside.

"Here, I'll pick one out too," I said, turning my attention to the New Releases section. A band called The Neighborhood seemed to call for me as I flipped between the albums. I turned it over, quickly scanning the back, and tucking into my bag, proud of my selection.

"Girls, this way!" Joel hollered from around the front of the store, catching our attention.

"Coming!" We called in sync, rushing out of the building.

We let him lead the way again, keeping our distance from the smuggler.

Coming up on a huge wall, I couldn't help but say, "Wow. That's...really big."

"Yep. This is definitely Bill's work," Joel informed, turning down an alleyway.

We were about halfway down when a clicker turned the corner, startling us.

"Oh shit," Joel exclaimed, going for his revolver when suddenly the infected exploded in front of us, making me flinch.

"Whoa, Nelly!" Ellie said beside me. "What the hell was that?!"

"That," Joel started, "would be one of Bill's traps."

"Your friend a bit paranoid, maybe?" I asked, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Now, that's putting it lightly," Joel answered as we continued down the back alley.

"What's the deal with this guy?" Ellie questioned.

Joel took a breath. "He helped us smuggle stuff into the city. He's...he knows how to find things."

"Well, let's hope we don't blow up trying to find him," I said with a scowl.

"Just watch your step and you'll be fine," Joel said.

As we moved, we came up on a corpse with two arrows sticking out of the torso.

"Jeez. Is Bill good with a bow?" Ellie asked.

Joel collected the arrows. "I reckon he is."

With that said, we climbed up a truck, making our way around another one of Bill's makeshift walls. Joel climbed it first, getting a look at what was on top.

"Well, would you lookie here," He muttered as he picked up a recurve bow that was stashed behind a random loveseat.

"Hey, let me use that. I'm a pretty good shot with that thing," Ellie told Joel.

I scoffed. "Are you kidding? I'm a way better shot than you."

"Excuse me? I think you screwed your head on backwards or something because that is entirely false. Joel, you can trust me with it," Ellie said as she scowled at me a little.

"How about we just leave this kinda stuff to me, alright?" Joel said.

Ellie and I frowned at his words.

"Well," I started, following Joel over a wooden plank that gave us passage to a brick building, "We could all have a weapon. You know, cover each other? It'll be more efficient that way."

"I don't think so."

"That's complete bullshit," I mumbled, scrambling up a ladder, Ellie right behind me.

Joel ignored my statement and instead moved the plank we just walked on to the other side of the building, reusing it so we could continue traveling by rooftop.

We trekked across it once again, and Joel halted in front of us, motioning to a resting clicker ahead. We watched as he pulled the bow from his shoulder, knocked an arrow, and shot the clicker clean through the face, killing it instantly.

My shoulders sagged slightly, making me realize just how tense I was from being in this clicker-infested town.

"Alright, now that that's taken care of..." Joel muttered before continuing our path over the roof of the building.

We followed him down a ladder, stepping onto a small rooftop balcony before we actually touched the pavement on the road again.

"Be careful, there's another wire," Joel warned as he ducked his head and shuffled underneath it. I went next, keeping extra low at the thought of blowing myself to bits with one wrong move.

There weren't any infected around the corner, but the building next to us held the inhuman noises of a runner.

Joel walked up to the building's back door and turned the handle, walking inside.

I gaped at him. "You're going in there?! We just heard the sounds of the infected, Joel!"

"I wanna see what we can find," He said bluntly, walking up the stairs.

Ellie scoffed, shaking her head as she whispered, "You're gonna find our dead bodies when we die from a heart attack."

"Don't worry, I got this," Joel assured.

We turned the corner, entering the residential part of the building. It smelled musty with the sour tang of blood. It was utterly silent as we moved from the bedroom to the bathroom, letting Joel collect anything he found useful.

The quiet ended, though, when we stepped foot in the living room, a runner jumping from another bedroom, immediately sprinting our way.

Joel lugged back a crowbar before striking the runner in the head, the sound of metal meeting bone ringing in my ears.

"Jeez!" Ellie exclaimed. "That thing scared the shit outta me!"

"You and me both," I said under my breath, staring down at the body.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here," Joel said in agreement, making his way back to the flight of stairs.

We walked back the way we came, but this time headed to a fence laced with one of the wires that was meant for the infected, and possible intruders.

"Stand back," Joel instructed as he grabbed a brick from off the ground and hurled it at the trap.

It exploded loudly, making me take a step back in caution.

"Oh shit," Ellie started, "those things are kinda awesome."

"Yeah, if you wanna have your head blown off," I said with a frown as we walked past the entrance.

"Come on," Joel said as we walked into another back alley. From there, we went into a back room that seemed to be the leftovers of an office. "Stay close."

Joel opened the door next to a filing cabinet, opening his mouth to say something before he got cut off, his body yanked into the air.


	10. mr. gas mask

"Joel!" I shouted instantly, reaching out to try and grab his hand, only for him to slip through my fingers.

Ellie began to panic, her eyes moving frantically beside me.

Hanging from a rope by the ankle, Joel caught his breath. You could tell he was trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

"There!" Ellie exclaimed, pointing to where the rope connected to a fridge. She pulled out her switchblade, running over to the icebox. I jogged behind her, telling Joel to leave it to us.

"Goddammit, Bill," I heard Joel mutter behind me, clearly frustrated.

"What was that?" I asked, turning from the refrigerator to Joel.

"One of Bill's stupid traps," he hissed in response.

"Oh," I whispered, looking up at Ellie as she climbed on the fridge, sitting on her knees as she began to saw at the rope that suspended Joel in the air. "Come on, El."

"I'm going as fast as I can," She gritted as her hand went back and forth. "This rope is ridiculously thick."

"Just keep cutting," I said, looking around. My eyes narrowed as I strained my vision past the white appliance. "Guys! We've got company!"

Shrieks filled the air as I began to hastily climb onto the fridge, up to where Ellie sat. She stopped cutting and looked over her shoulder at my words, her eyes widening at the sight of infected climbing over the beat-up fence. "Shit, shit, shit!"

The sound of a gun going off startled me, and I looked back, watching as Joel tried his best to kill the upcoming runners. Ellie's cutting seemed incredibly slow.

"Ellie, any moment now would be great..." I muttered, my eyes glancing over at her frustrated state.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Blake!" she snapped, her arm shaking as she moved it. I opened my mouth to argue with her about speeding up the process, but I was stopped when something yanked my ankle, pulling me to the edge.

Ellie screamed my name as I lunged for the rope, trying to stay on top of the one thing that was keeping me alive.

"Don't move!" Ellie hollered over the shouts and howling of the runner that had taken hold of me.

"I'm trying not to!" I jeered at her, the sentence becoming a scream as I felt the runner's fingernails latch into my skin, just below my jeans. The sound of teeth snapping and gunfire filled my ears.

Ellie leaned over my body and continuously stabbed at the female runner's head. "Get off of her, motherfucker!"

The hands on my foot loosened and I pulled my right leg forward before rearing it back, kicking the runner square in the face, the sound of bone crunching underneath my foot echoing through my mind.

As the runner corpse fell to the ground, it was quickly replaced by another. This time, though, it tried to claw at Ellie. Before the runner could get a good hold on her, she kicked it away, and we both scrambled back to the knot of rope.

"How's it lookin'?!" Joel yelled, followed by more gunshots.

"We're goin' as fast as we can!" I yelled, fending off another runner as Ellie tended to the cord, working harder than before.

Joel bellowed our names as the string finally snapped, lashing Ellie and I back, landing on the floor with a thud. I yelped as pain shot up my tailbone, groaning as I got up and grabbed Ellie's hand, hauling her up with me. 

"Joel, watch out!" Ellie shouted beside me, making me whip in his direction, my face falling when a runner slammed into his body, shoving him to the ground.

Before Ellie and I could run up and help, or even have time to panic, a machete buried itself in the runner's skull, then slicing the head clean off. Joel's savior, a man in a gas mask, helped him up. "Get off your ass and on your feet."

"What-" I managed to get out before Ellie yanked me towards the two men. I found my footing as we sprinted out of the building, following the dude with the mask. As we ran out, he cut a chain, making a large door fall behind us, sealing the way back.

"Alright, this way. Keep up," The man said with a muffled voice.

We started to jog further ahead when a trio of runners appeared above a 16-wheeler, halting us in our tracks.

Mr. Gas-mask cursed under his breath before directing us another way, leading us through the maze of back alleyways. In no time, we came upon a door, and the man rushed us in, shoving Ellie and I by our shoulders.

Joel shut the door in a hurry, him and the guy closing it on a clicker sprinting our way. As the thudding on the door slowly came to a stop, Ellie and I catching our breaths side by side, the man, who I'm now assuming is Bill, looked between us and Joel.

"Oh, man..." Ellie breathed. "That was really close."

I nodded as I stood to my full height, resting my elbow on Ellie's shoulder. "Yeah," I looked at would-be-Bill. "Thanks for the heroics and all. You came in the knick of time, too."

He walked over to us and took off his mask, reaching behind him for something on his belt or in his pocket.

Ellie held out a hand. "Uh, I'm Ellie."

Bill grabbed her wrist, hooking a handcuff over it. 

"Hey, what are you-" My eyes widened and I held out my arms to push him back when he grabbed my own hand, pushing me over to a pipe and looping the chain through, connecting Ellie and I to each other and the wall. "Joel!"

"Bill!" Joel shouted, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to get to us. "Bill!"

Bill pulled out his gun, aiming it at Joel as Ellie and I pulled at the pipe stuck in the wall. 

"Turn around and get on your knees." He ordered Joel, a deep scowl on his face. He began to talk more to Joel, but I didn't listen, instead, I turned my attention to Ellie and the pipe.

"Ellie," I started, "pull. This thing is loose."

She nodded at my instructions, both of us grasping the metal and beginning to wrench the thing out of its place. We succeeded after a few hard tugs, and Ellie took control, dragging me over and beginning to repeatedly hit Bill with it, each swing tugging on my arm.

"Stop!" Joel shouted, coming up and taking the pipe from Ellie, making her stumble against me. Bill let out a string of curses in the corner of the musty room. Joel turned back to Bill. "Are you done?"

Bill scoffed. "Am I done? You come into my house, you set off all my traps, you damn near break my shootin' arm. Who the fuck are these punks and what're they doin' here?"

My lip pulled back in a soft snarl as I stepped around Ellie, our hands still connected. "We are none of your goddamn business and we're here because you owe Joel some favors." I lifted mine and Ellie's connected hands. "And you can start by taking these off!"

"I owe Joel some favors, is this some kind of joke?" Bill mocked, walking over to a table and taking his machete out, throwing it down. He began to sharpen it as Joel said, "I'll cut to the chase. I need a car."

"Well, it is a joke. Joel needs a car," Bill sneered. "Well, if I had one that works, which I sure as hell don't, what makes you think I'd just give it to you? Huh? Yeah, sure Joel, take my car. Take all of my food, too, while you're at it."

Ellie let out a laugh. "By the looks of it, you could lose some of that food."

"Mmm-hmm." I covered my mouth as I laughed beside her. 

Bill whirled and pointed at us with his blade. "You listen to me you little shits-"

"No, fuck you!" I interrupted. "You handcuffed us-"

Joel grabbed our shoulders and pushed us back. "I need you both to shut up. Alright?"

Ellie jeered at Joel as she batted away his hands, and stepped in front of me.

"Whatever favors you think I owe ya, it ain't worth that much," Bill said, going back to sharpening his machete.

"Actually, Bill, they are," Joel said.

Bill shook his head a little. "Well, it don't matter 'cause I don't have a car that works."

"But there is one in this town," Joel said hopefully.

"Parts," Bill snapped. "There are parts in this town."

"Meaning that you could fix one up."

Bill rubbed a gloved hand over his face, pulling out a map, and finally giving in to Joel. "Alright, if I'm gonna do this, there's some gear I'm gonna need." Ellie and I walked closer to the men, still wanting to see what was happening, but all while maintaining our distance. "It's on the other side of town. Now, you help me go gather it, and maybe I can put together something that runs. But after this, I owe you nothin'."

Bill placed down a set of keys as Joel said, "Alright, that's fine."

Joel took the keys and grabbed mine and Ellie's hands, unlocking the cuffs. "Couple of days from now we'll probably be dead anyway."

Sighing, I rubbed my wrist as Bill said, "Good. Follow me. Whole goddamn town's booby-trapped, so you best stay right on my ass."

I snorted as we followed the grown men out. "Can't miss it."

Ellie grinned.

"Knock it off," Joel warned as he grabbed my arm and guided me ahead of him.


	11. brats

“Alright, whatever supplies you may want or need, I suggest you grab them,” Bill said as he paused in the middle of the bar, sneering a little at Joel as he spoke.

“Ok, thank you,” Joel said, beginning to search around the room, grabbing items and shoving them into his bag for later use.

He walked towards the back of the bar, and Ellie and I followed him, eyeing Bill as we disappeared into a back room that looked like a lounge.

“Man, that guy’s got a fuckin’ stick up his ass,” Ellie scoffed when we were out of earshot.

“You’re telling me,” I said, kicking some glass that littered the floor.

“Just stay close to me and out of his way,” Joel said as he sighed through his nose, picking up some more materials that sat on a coffee table.

I nodded with an eye roll.  _ Hanging out with this guy is going to be so much fun. _

Joel walked out of the small lounge and over to a chessboard that sat on a booth’s table, cocking his head to the side as he observed the pieces.

“Hey, you know how to play this?” I asked, leaning to the side and looking at the game from over his arm.

He looked at me. “Pretty badly, yeah.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn,” Ellie piped in next to me, grabbing a white horse and inspecting it before setting it back down.

“Hey! Bobby Fischer - don’t touch anything on that board!” Bill called from the entrance.

“Mm, a little late,” I muttered to no one in particular.

Ellie’s eyebrows furrowed. “Bobby what?”

“Just let it go,” Joel said, shaking his head at the conversation.

Ellie grumbled under her breath but followed Joel to the door, the two of us keeping a fair distance from the grown men.

“Found everything you need?” Bill asked.

Joel nodded. “Yeah, we’re good.”

“Alright, we have to cross to the other building. Let’s move it,” Bill instructed rather harshly, leaving us to scamper up the brick steps and follow him deeper into his town.

“Jesus, you weren’t kidding about him,” I scoffed, staring at the back of Bill’s backpack as we made it to the top of the steps.

“Yeah, he’s, uh, one of a kind,” Joel said with a chuckle, grabbing some rags off of a battered washing machine. “Just stay close to me.”

“Don’t worry, we don’t want to get anywhere near that asshole,” I assured as Ellie hummed in approval.

“Hey, what kind of trouble are you in? And where the hell’s Tess?” Bill asked as we followed him out of the building,

“It’s a job. A simple drop off,” Joel said.

“What are you delivering? Those little brats?” Bill questioned with a mocking laugh.

Ellie let out a fake laugh. “Haha, fuck you too.”

I snorted as I bumped her shoulder, exchanging a knowing glance with Ellie, butterflies swarming in my stomach when we locked eyes, our smiles gradually growing.

Bill interrupted the moment with snarky laughter of his own, leading us into an apartment building as he said, “Y’know, I hope you know what you’re doin’.”

“Are you kidding me with this guy?” I jeered, my upturned lips turning into a frown.

“So, where we goin’, Bill?” Joel asked, trying to change the subject.

“A safehouse. More of an armory, really.”

“Wait,” Ellie interjected. “I thought we were gonna fix up a car?”

“We?” Bill started, “You know how to fix a-”

“Bill,” Joel interrupted with a groan. “Just…”

“It’s like I said, what I need is on the other side of town. Now, that side I don’t ever go to cause it’s filled with infected. So, we’re gonna need more guns.” Bill said.

“Huh, lovely,” I said sarcastically, shaking my head at the thought of more runners and clickers.

We passed through the apartments rather quickly, making our way down to the lower floors. When we entered the lobby, something made a strangled noise up ahead, behind a wall. 

“Shh, there’s one inside,” Joel said as Bill took the lead, machete in hand.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to take care of this one for a while, it’s fine,” Bill assured, standing up straight and walking to where a runner was trapped under some fallen ceiling. “So, you didn’t answer my question about Tess. I mean, I thought the two of you were inseparable.”

I looked at Joel as he said, “She’s busy.”

Bill looked like he didn’t believe him, drawing back his machete and hacking the runner’s head off. “Yeah, sure.  _ Busy _ . Sounds to me like there was some trouble in paradise.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Joel said quietly as Bill opened the front door, guiding us to an abandoned street.


	12. the school

"So...why don't you just fix one of these cars?" The words tumble out of my mouth as I peek into the window of a rusted vehicle.

Bill scoffed. "Oh my God, you're a genius. I mean the whole time, why on earth hadn't I thought about fixin' one of these cars?"

"Okay, don't be a dick," Ellie said defensively. "She was asking a question that I'm just as curious about."

"Their tires are rotted and their batteries are dead," Bill finally answered with an obvious tone.

"Are you done?" Ellie asked with a sigh.

"Can't even begin to imagine what the inside of the engine blocks look like. The only ones making new car batteries is the military," Bill said, looking like he wanted to continue, but the sound of screeching cut him off.

My eyes drifted to the side of a brick building, my face dropping as runners and clickers fell from busted windows. "Goddamn it! Guys we've got infected!"

"Shit, lock and load," Bill muttered, loading the gun he had in his hand.

Joel told us to get back as he took out a molotov cocktail, flicking on his lighter, and inflaming the small cloth that stuck out of the bottle. Rearing his arm back he let out a loud "get back!" before throwing the make-shift bomb into the small horde of infected, igniting the group into flames.

Bill let out a relieved sigh as the dying sounds from the infected began to lower, their bodies crumbling to the ground. He muttered to himself, "Alright...you gotta check the barricades again. You neglect the simple shit and now you're paying for it."

As he mumbled some more to himself, Ellie and I exchanged a small glance, her face telling me we were thinking the exact same thing. _This guy's fucking crazy._

"Uh, Bill?" Joel called from up ahead.

"Joel? This way," Bill directed, leading the three of us to the front garden of the brick building, and walking inside the metal gate.

"You picked a hell of a place to hole up, didn't ya?" Joel asked, shaking his head as he entered a small storage unit, picking up stray supplies.

"You know, as bad as those things are, at least they're predictable. It's the normal people that scare me," Bill said.

"I can agree on that one," Ellie whispered beside me, flashing her eyes from Bill to me. A small laugh escaped me as I understood her thinking.

Joel started climbing the brick stairs as he said, "You sure that gates gonna hold 'em?"

"Well, I locked it. And they don't have the key," Bill remarked, ushering Ellie and I to follow Joel.

As we hit the top of the steps, it seemed to be dead-end, making me groan a bit.

"Which way?" Joel asked, clearly guessing the same thing.

"We're here. This is the cellar," Bill said, walking up to two basement doors and opening them. "Come on, down here."

Bill led the way as I followed him in, Ellie and Joel behind me. The smell of light mold and wood entered my nose as I stepped down, my eyes beginning to adjust from the bright sunlight to the darkness of the cellar.

"Well, here we are," Bill said, then turning and pointing his index finger at Ellie and I. "Don't touch anything." He looked up at Joel. "And close the damn door."

My eyes wandered around the large underground room as Bill lit an oil lamp, saying more to Joel than us, "Let's gear up."

I straightened a little as I began to walk with Ellie, searching for any sort of weapon I could use, only to be stopped when Joel put an arm in front of us. "Uh-uh."

My eyebrows knitted together as I took a step back. "What? We need a gun, Joel."

He started to walk ahead of us, and glanced over his shoulder as he said, "No you don't."

"Joel, we can handle ourselves," Ellie said matter-of-factly. I dipped my chin in agreement.

"No. Just stay here," Joel said, getting his final word in before walking off to where Bill was.

"Fine, we'll just wait around for you two to get us killed," I scoffed, shaking my head and turning away from the men, finding a pile of comics on top of a large box. "Ellie, over here."

She cursed under her breath at Joel before following me, her eyes widening a little as we laid eyes on the pile of what I thought was comics, but turns out was a bunch of porn magazines. "Oh my god."

"Is this...what I think it is?" Ellie asked as she picked up a magazine with a bare-chested man on the front. She flipped through as I looked over her shoulder, snickering as she pointed to more pictures of half-naked men.

"Why are they shaped like that?" I asked, giggling as she flipped the page to reveal a man's ass. "You know, maybe I only like girls, especially if guys' anatomy looks like this. Doesn't help if their personality is shit, either."

Ellie looked up at me, smirking as she said, "Lucky for me, I don't like whatever the hell this is."

"If it was all women you'd be a blushing mess," I teased with a raised eyebrow. Ellie took off her backpack and stuffed the magazine, along with something else, in the bag, muttering, "You would too, idiot."

"What are you doing?" I asked, ignoring her statement and crouching down to her on the floor, eyes glancing to where Bill and Joel were, hoping Bill wouldn't notice us.

"Taking these for later. Get a kick out of it if we start scanning through them with Joel around," Ellie said with a grin and putting her backpack on. She stood and started to straighten the pile we had messed up.

"Hey! What'd I say to you when we walked down the steps?! What'd I say?!" Bill hollered from across the cellar, the scowl on his face deepening as he yelled at us.

"She's just fixing your stupid pile, jackass!" I fired back, glaring at the man.

"Don't. Touch."

Ellie didn't say anything as she flipped him off, turning her attention back to me as she shook her head in disbelief.

—

"There's more on the way. Barricade the door!" Bill instructed as we scampered into the high school gym.

Ellie and I caught our breath as Joel and Bill blocked the entrance to the gym. "Man, you weren't kidding when you said there would be a shit ton of infected, Bill."

"You thought I was lyin'?" Bill huffed as he and Joel stood back from the door.

Just as I was about to comment, a large metal divider fell from beside a storage closet, a rumbling noise echoing from inside.

"That doesn't sound good," Ellie said, her eyes wide with worry.

A large thump came from the closet as a large humanoid figure covered in fungal plates emerged from the room. "What the fuck is that?!"

"It's a goddamn bloater!" Bill called as Ellie and I ran behind a large crate, peeking over the edge as the bloater stumbled closer and closer to us. The large infected began to reach near its neck. It threw something in the air, and as Bill and Joel started firing at it, my eyes locked on the thrown item mid-air. "Ellie! We gotta move!"

My eyes widened as I grabbed her hand and lunged out of the way, spores exploding from where we just were. "Are you okay?!"

Groaning, Ellie looked down at me from our position on the ground. We landed in a heap on the gym floor, me on my stomach and Ellie on half on top of me. "Yeah, thanks." She took a breath before adding, "And what the fuck is that thing throwing at us?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. We can ask Joel about it later, but for now, let's focus on not dying, please."

She nodded as she rolled off of me and hurriedly pulled me to my feet, dragging me as a runner also came from the storage closet, it's bloodshot eyes locked on us. Bill and Joel continued to fight the bloater as the runner started to run our way.

I cursed Joel's name for not giving us a gun as Ellie pulled out her switchblade, stabbing the living corpse as it drew closer. She repeatedly impaled its skull, pushing the body back as it began to fall limp.

"I'm going to give Joel hell for not giving us a proper weapon." She huffed, pocketing her knife as a roar shook the gym, the bloater finally falling to its feet.


	13. undefined feelings

“Everyone alright?” Joel asked as he lowered his gun, taking a deep breath at what had just happened.

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Ellie said. “We need a weapon, Joel. We almost got killed by a runner.”

Joel didn't look at us as he and Bill walked over to the bleachers. “You two handled the runner just fine by the looks of it. I don’t see why you need a gun.”

“Look,” Bill interrupted, “I hate to cut into your little father-daughter bantering, but can we get the fuck out of here? Joel, boost me up onto these bleachers.”

With that seemingly the end of our conversation, Joel walked up to the bleachers and helped Bill up, followed by Ellie, then me. As I swung my leg up, runners came tumbling out of a hole in the wall, heading straight for Joel, who was still on the gym floor.

“Joel, behind you!” I said, pointing to the trio of infected that started running his way. He cursed as he pulled out his revolver and fired at the runners. 

“Let’s go, finish it off!” Bill yelled impatiently as Joel dodged an incoming lunge.

“I am!” Joel fired back.

I looked at Bill. “Maybe instead of pestering him while he’s  _ fighting for his life  _ down there, you could shoot them too!”

Bill opened his mouth, probably to yell at me, when Joel called out, “Alright! Get me up on the bleachers so we can get outta here.”

Letting out a string of curses, likely for me, Bill reached out and took Joel’s hand, helping him onto the bleachers.

Getting to his feet, Joel wiped off a streak of blood that was on his cheek. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

I nodded as Ellie and I followed Joel and Bill outside, hopping over an opened window and landing in the back way of the school and a neighborhood. As we began to run, a runner came from the side of the school, it’s teeth chattering as it sprinted towards us.

“Come on, this way! There’s a ladder!” Bill instructed as he pointed up ahead, pushing me in front of him as we ran.

“Keep going, I’m right behind you,” I heard Joel call, followed by a string of gunfire.

Ellie reached the ladder first, and she climbed it frantically, hopping over the fence with me on her tail. “Come on, guys! Fuckin’ move it!”

I jumped down, stumbling a little as Ellie pulled me towards the house, Joel and Bill right behind us as we pushed the door open. Catching our breaths, I shook my head a little. “Well, that worked out swell.”

Joel looked like he wanted to punch me. I put my hands up in surrender as I said, “Fine, sorry. Ellie and I will go check out this side of the house.”

Ellie followed me into a bedroom, one that looked like it used to belong to a girl. “God, they’re so fucking serious all the time.”

“Honestly,” Ellie said as she ran a hand over her face and sat at the foot of the twin bed. “I hope we can find a car. If we can’t…”

“Yeah, then we won’t make it to Tommy,” I finished, settling on the bed beside her. A silence grew over the two of us as we sat, the voices of Joel and Bill trailing into the room, undistinguishable words being exchanged between the two adults. 

“Do you think humanity will be saved?” Ellie asked suddenly, breaking me from my daze as I turned to look at her.

“I hope so. That way, we get to live.  _ Really _ live; not just survive day and night,” I said, meeting her eyes.

She nodded as she grabbed my hand, squeezing my palm in hers. “We’ll live. Together. That way we can figure out whatever these undefined feelings are,” She paused for a moment, almost as if she was expecting me to reject what she was saying; that I didn’t feel something between us as well. 

“Yeah,” I started, not giving her time to take back her words, “we can figure  _ us  _ out. I like the sound of that.”

A soft smile grew on her face as I finished my sentence. “Me too.”


	14. an awkward situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!! i apologize for not updating sooner, school was just getting in the way of things >_<  
> i’m back now so i hope you enjoy this new chapter :)

“What about you guys - how did you two meet?” Joel asked from the driver’s seat of the truck, sparing a glance at Ellie and I in the rearview mirror.

“Well, we met each other through school,” Ellie started, “we immediately became each other’s friends...with the help of a mutual friend.”

“Yeah, there really isn’t some super special background story or anything Joel,” I said with a playful eye roll, shifting on the stiff cushion.

“Yeah, well, I was just curious,” Joel said while rubbing an eye.

I hummed in acknowledgment as Ellie bent down to grab something from her backpack. She rummaged around before pulling out a CD. She handed it to Joel as she said, “Here. This make you feel all nostalgic and stuff?”

“Y’know, that was actually before my time,” Joel said with a small grin as he put the CD in a small slot. Country music began to play as we continued down the vacant road, the rain from outside pattering lightly on the car.

“Well, it’s better than nothing,” Ellie shrugged, clearly not a fan of the song that started to play. She reached back down to her bag and pulled out something else, a clear smirk on her face as her eyes met mine. “Look what I brought.”

The smile on my face faltered slightly as I realized she was pulling out the porn magazine...in front of Joel.

“I was kidding about reading that in front of Joel!” I whisper-yelled at her, trying to launch myself and take the magazine. She giggled as she used her arm to block me.

“What are you two doing back there?” Joel asked as he glanced at us.

“Nothing-”

“We’re just reading, Joel, calm down. No one’s in trouble,” Ellie said, adjusting herself to face me, arms reaching out so I could look at the magazine too.

Joel let out a grunt of annoyance. “Not yet, anyway.”

I let out a snort but didn’t say anything, my attention being drawn back to Ellie and the pamphlet.

Ellie let out a scoff, a mischievous smirk on her face as she said, “Well, I’m sure ‘your friend’ will be missing this tonight.”

I groaned as Joel gave an automatic hum, not bothering to look back at us.

Green eyes flashed to mine as Ellie continued. “Light on the reading but it’s got some  _ interesting  _ photos.”

Finally turning back, Joel’s eyes widened as he realized what Ellie had in her hands. “Girls, that’s not meant for kids-”

Ellie turned the page, ignoring Joel, and blessed our eyes with a man posing in lingerie.

“Ellie!” I practically shouted, turning my head away from the magazine and shoving it away. 

“Whoa! How - how the hell would he even walk around in that thing?!” Ellie exclaimed with a large grin, forcing the picture at me.

I cursed her name again as I put up my arm in defense, looking at Joel for some sort of help he probably couldn’t give me from the front seat.

Frowning suddenly, Ellie brought her face closer to the magazine as she flipped the page, sparing me a confused glance as she said, “Wait...why are these all stuck together?”

My eyes widened as I tried not to throw up in my mouth. Joel didn’t look any better, clearly not knowing what to say to the auburn-haired girl with a men’s porn magazine.

“I’m just fucking with you guys,” Ellie mused, finally breaking the weird silence. Joel and I didn’t sport the same smile she did as she turned to face me. “Roll down the window.”

I didn’t question her as I did what she said. 

Ellie’s body hovered over mine as she leaned across me, throwing out the form of media. “Bye-bye dude!”

Rolling the window back up, I sighed as I sunk deeper into the rough seat. “God, you’re the fucking worst, Ellie.”

“Nah, you love me,” Ellie confidently said as she nudged my arm and brought her feet up to rest on the other side of the back seat. “Now, if you don’t mind, I will be using you as a pillow.”

I raised an eyebrow as she lowered her head to my lap. “And what if I do mind?”

“Good luck getting me off.”

Scoffing, I rested my hand on her torso, my body slowly relaxing as Ellie closed her eyes, trying to find some limited rest.

I leaned against the car door, watching a pair of water droplets drip down the window, the sound of rain and soft music slowly pulling me to sleep.


End file.
